Some African-Americans insist that President Obama should lead a national dialogue on race when there are high-profile racial incidents that capture the nation's attention. And, in that regard, at least one prominent and highly quotable African-American intellectual thinks Obama is falling down on the job.
President Obama is is trying to put the racially insensitive remarks by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid behind him but some African-American leaders argue he is missing a major chance to begin an honest discussion about race in the United States.
Sen. Harry Reid's comments during the 2008 Democratic primary show that he is socially awkward, but they certainly don't prove he is a secret racist. If anything, these comments show that Reid may know about white voters, but he doesn't understand black voters at all.
While the overall unemployment rate for Americans fell in November, the jobless gap between African-Americans and all other races actually rose, continuing a disturbing trend that has many lawmakers up in arms.
This much isn't in dispute: Heather Ellis joined a line at a Wal-Mart nearly three years ago.
Change was being effected in the nation's black communities long before the word took center stage in the last presidential election.
Harry Connick Jr. almost got it right when he challenged the doctors who mocked the Jacksons in blackface on an Australian version of "the Gong Show."
When you have a name like María de la Soledad Teresa O'Brien, you have a lot of explaining to do. My mother is black and also Latina, more specifically Cuban. She is a devout Catholic who credits the Virgin Mary with any success she's had in this country. But it was my father, a man who spoke no Spanish, who chose the name María de la Soledad to honor the Blessed Virgin Mary of Solitude ("solitude" in Spanish is soledad).
"Obama! Obama! Obama!" a student confidently chants as he strides down the hallway of Sojourner Truth School in Harlem.
Audrey Peterman grew up surrounded by Jamaica's verdant mountains and lush mango orchards. She'd watch fish and an occasional shrimp dart in the stream that flowed near her house. When she settled in America, she yearned to relish the natural beauty of her new homeland.
Some African-Americans insist that President Obama should lead a national dialogue on race when there are high-profile racial incidents that capture the nation's attention. And, in that regard, at least one prominent and highly quotable African-American intellectual thinks Obama is falling down on the job.
President Obama is is trying to put the racially insensitive remarks by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid behind him but some African-American leaders argue he is missing a major chance to begin an honest discussion about race in the United States.
Sen. Harry Reid's comments during the 2008 Democratic primary show that he is socially awkward, but they certainly don't prove he is a secret racist. If anything, these comments show that Reid may know about white voters, but he doesn't understand black voters at all.
While the overall unemployment rate for Americans fell in November, the jobless gap between African-Americans and all other races actually rose, continuing a disturbing trend that has many lawmakers up in arms.
This much isn't in dispute: Heather Ellis joined a line at a Wal-Mart nearly three years ago.
Change was being effected in the nation's black communities long before the word took center stage in the last presidential election.
Harry Connick Jr. almost got it right when he challenged the doctors who mocked the Jacksons in blackface on an Australian version of "the Gong Show."
When you have a name like María de la Soledad Teresa O'Brien, you have a lot of explaining to do. My mother is black and also Latina, more specifically Cuban. She is a devout Catholic who credits the Virgin Mary with any success she's had in this country. But it was my father, a man who spoke no Spanish, who chose the name María de la Soledad to honor the Blessed Virgin Mary of Solitude ("solitude" in Spanish is soledad).
"Obama! Obama! Obama!" a student confidently chants as he strides down the hallway of Sojourner Truth School in Harlem.
Audrey Peterman grew up surrounded by Jamaica's verdant mountains and lush mango orchards. She'd watch fish and an occasional shrimp dart in the stream that flowed near her house. When she settled in America, she yearned to relish the natural beauty of her new homeland.
Earlier this month, one of the biggest movie stars in the world was flying from Newark, New Jersey, to Chicago, Illinois, when he was allegedly pulled out of a security line and questioned and detained for over 1½ hours, apparently because of his Muslim name.
The Senate voted to apologize for slavery on June 18. The House apologized last summer. The first family -- descendants of Africans, of enslaved Africans and of slave-holders -- visited a slave fort in Ghana.
An African-American man has pleaded guilty after being accused of impersonating a white supremacist in a fictitious Facebook account to make death threats against an African-American university student.
A new national poll indicates that white and black Americans don't see eye to eye on last month's arrest of Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates.
Lucia Whalen strolled down a sidewalk near Harvard University, enjoying a lunchtime ritual she'd repeated many times in her 15 years working in Cambridge, Massachusetts. But on this day, July 16, her outing would become something else altogether -- the first steps in a national drama.
The controversy involving the arrest of a black Harvard professor by a white police officer has brought race relations in America to the front burner.
With "Black in America 2," CNN deepens its investigation of the most challenging issues facing African-Americans. CNN's Soledad O'Brien journeys to South Africa and criss-crosses the U.S., reporting on groundbreaking solutions that are transforming the black experience in America. O'Brien uncovers pioneers who are making a difference: people inspiring volunteerism, programs that are improving access to quality health care and education, and leaders working to address financial struggles and develop strong families. Before and after viewing these programs, use our free Discussion Questions and Learning Activity to facilitate a conversation with your middle and high school students.
Several hours before President Barack Obama gave his well-received speech at the NAACP centennial convention in New York City, he spoke before another probing audience of African-Americans aboard Air Force One.
America was proud of itself for electing Barack Obama. The pride was not just partisan and ideological; it was also specifically and clearly racial.
Far from flowing rainbow flags, the sound of Lady Gaga and, quite honestly, white people, stands a nightclub just outside of Wicker Park in Chicago, Illinois, by the name of The Prop House.
Michael Jackson was an international superstar, and many in the black community herald him for breaking down racial barriers in the music industry.
Thursday the U.S. Senate passed a resolution apologizing for slavery and for legalized segregation.
The California Supreme Court's decision not to retract Proposition 8, the ban on gay marriage, has sent the issue back to the forefront of conversation across the country. Most recently, New Hampshire became the sixth state to legalize gay marriages. While some 18,000 same-sex couples have already tied the knot in California, those who wish to walk down the aisle today will not receive the same privilege.
It seems Tavis Smiley has been irritated with Barack Obama for a long time. Smiley is perhaps the most recognizable African-American journalist in the country. He is a fixture on radio and television, and has authored several books that are best-sellers among black readers.
They're not going to like this.
It's been more than a year since a racial slur threatened to end the television career of Duane "Dog the Bounty Hunter" Chapman. But the incident still weighs heavily on his mind.
Would you get upset if you witnessed an act of racism?
First, we're a nation of whiners; now, we're a nation of cowards.
Forty years after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., CNN launches a sweeping on-air and digital initiative, CNN Presents: Black in America. These documentaries, "The Black Woman and Family" and "The Black Man," focus on fresh analysis from new voices about the real lives behind the stereotypes, statistics and identity politics that frequently frame the national dialogue about Black America. Before and after viewing these programs, use the overview questions and discussion activity that follow to facilitate a discussion with your pre-teen and teenaged children.
In remarks delivered Wednesday to the Justice Department to commemorate Black History Month, Attorney General Eric Holder offered one of the most courageous and honest speeches on American race by a political figure in quite some time.
On Wednesday, Attorney General Eric Holder marked Black History Month with an address at the Department of Justice. Holder clearly and courageously acknowledged the history of American racism.
Use these activities to encourage your students to learn about and appreciate the history, culture and achievements of African-Americans.
Today Barack Obama will be sworn in as the 44th president of the United States of America.
More than two-thirds of African-Americans believe Martin Luther King Jr.'s vision for race relations has been fulfilled, a CNN poll found -- a figure up sharply from a survey in early 2008.
Today, one day before the inauguration of the first African-American president, the Martin Luther King Jr. observance hailing civil rights gains will be combined with jubilation over Barack Obama's historic achievement.
Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. told followers the night before he was killed that he had been "to the mountaintop" and seen the promised land of racial equality. Last week's election of Barack Obama was the equivalent of taking all African-Americans to that peak, says Dr. Alvin Poussaint.
Hate crimes experts and law enforcement officials are closely watching white supremacists across the country as Barack Obama prepares next week to be sworn in as the first black president of the United States.
Next week, the day after our national holiday commemorating the 80th birthday of Dr. King, Barack Obama will be sworn in as the 44th president of the United States, the first African-American elected as president.
As the inauguration of the first African American president approaches, the national news is full of race-related stories.
By now, it has become almost a cliché: "I never thought I'd live to see it happen."
Hardly anyone takes kindly to being called a racist, presumably even those for whom the term is a perfect fit. Accusations of racial bias, therefore, generally ensure that the accused spend so much time denying them that they hear nothing else that's being said. Besides, without a damning utterance like the n word or at least a "nappy-headed ho," racism can be difficult to prove. Any questionable action, including passing over a highly qualified African-American coaching candidate in order to hire an underwhelming white one, can have multiple motivations. Good luck convincing those accused of racism that bigotry is the main one.
For most African-Americans, the election of Barack Obama as president was a dream come true that they didn't think they would see in their lifetime, a national poll released Tuesday suggests.
If you think African-Americans will come out in greater numbers than ever before to vote for Barack Obama, you're probably right.
Former NBA star Charles Barkley spoke Monday to CNN's Campbell Brown about politics, race and his plans to run for governor in his boyhood home state of Alabama. Here is a transcript:
Watching delegates file into the Republican National Convention, it's easy to see one big challenge facing their party: Fewer than 2 percent of the delegates are black.
The House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a resolution apologizing to African-Americans for slavery and the era of Jim Crow.
"We had a dream. Now it's a reality."
Death has a way of sanitizing the most virulent and despicable aspects of prominent lives, especially those who trafficked in racial bigotry.
The law requires adoption in the U.S. to be color-blind, but a new study suggests that approach may be less than ideal
In claiming victory in West Virginia last night, Hillary Clinton reiterated her last best argument as to why she should be the Democratic nominee: because only she can win in November.
The Democratic candidate is polling poorly among one important ethnic group. Is race the reason?
Even as voters in South Carolina headed to the polls Saturday to deliver a beat down to Sen. Hillary Clinton for Sen. Barack Obama, former President Bill Clinton continued to stoke the racial fire, hoping an ember would ignite his wife's campaign and lead it to victory.
After a week of at times bitter campaigning, Sen. Barack Obama faces a crucial test of his support from within the party Saturday as South Carolina Democrats head to the polls in a race that features black voters for the first time this presidential primary season.
A nationally syndicated radio host is urging black Americans to refrain from spending money Friday, and his efforts are garnering support from some of the civil rights movement's heaviest hitters.
With Hispanics being the nation's largest minority group, the general assumption among many political and social pundits is that they will align themselves with African-Americans to represent a potent political force on the local, state and national level.
Welcome to the black-brown thing. That's what my African-American friends and I called it back in college. It's shorthand for the uneasy relationship between the nation's largest minority and the group that formerly held the title.
Sen. Barack Obama said Friday the fact he is viewed as a legitimate presidential candidate is testament to the progress America has made on race relations.
Oh my, this summer has not only seen a return of the race card in sports. Unfortunately, it seems as if the whole race deck has been dealt.
The Rev. Jesse Jackson said Thursday that a South Carolina newspaper misinterpreted his comments when it reported he said Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama is "acting like he's white."
A bitterly divided U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday issued what is likely to be a landmark opinion -- ruling that race cannot be a factor in the assignment of children to public schools.
The Supreme Court is poised to issue key rulings in two major cases involving diversity in schools.
Their daily journeys take them in opposite directions. Seth Dewboys, 7, and Howard Brim, 16, gladly pay the price for a good education.
One of the many joys of the World Cup is engaging in a 30-day frenzy of flag-hugging nationalism. Many Americans root for more than one team: the U.S. and the country of their ancestors. If you're ...
Later this year, PBS will host two presidential forums, and the moderator might be a new face to many Americans.
In 1982, transplant surgeon Dr. Clive Callender and his colleagues sat down to took a look at African-American organ donation numbers, and they were grim.
Decades after integrated schools, voting legislation and historic civil rights marches, what does it mean today to be black in America?
Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty has spoken for the first time of her fears that she is the victim of racism in the "Celebrity Big Brother" house.
A British television channel boss has said "Celebrity Big Brother" will stay on the air despite a row over the alleged "racist" treatment of an Indian actress on the show.
How serious a problem is racism in the United States? A new CNN poll finds that black people and white people have dramatically different views on the subject.
Most Americans, white and black, see racism as a lingering problem in the United States, and many say they know people who are racist, according to a new poll.
Michael Richards says he is "deeply, deeply sorry" for using racial epithets, including the "n word," after being heckled at a comedy club.
President Bush will address the NAACP's annual convention this week, the White House said Tuesday, making an appeal for unity in what will be the president's first appearance before the nation's oldest civil rights group since coming to office.
Members of the black clergy face a challenge in the upcoming political season to refrain from being used by any political party or ideological agenda to further their aims at the expense of the critical issues facing our communities.
During my 2004 presidential campaign, I was fond of saying that it was high time for the Christian right to meet the right Christians. That sentiment is even more appropriate today, more than a year-and-a-half after evangelicals catapulted George W. Bush back to the White House.
The following profiles feature prominent African Americans in the fields of politics, law, sports, civil rights and entertainment.
The Democratic Party has long maintained a near monopoly on the African-American vote, a claim Republicans hope to tackle by putting on a new face this week in New York.
It may seem like an obvious question to ask. But when we went to ten of the country's best-known African-American, Asian-American, and Hispanic business owners for their views on the changing role ...
Until recently Sekou Kaalund, 28, was like many New York City bachelors: He ate out a lot. Hung out a lot. And between making payments on his Duke University graduate school loans and adjusting to ...
The small brick church on Dexter Avenue in Montgomery may seem modest--it has only 250 members--but in fact it is legendary. In a previous life it was the headquarters from which a young Martin Lu...
Thomas Jefferson considered himself the father of the University of Virginia, and like any father he left a complicated legacy. "Our university is the last of my mortal cares and the last service I...
A group of scientists from Lucent Technologies' vaunted Bell Labs are eating lunch and talking about the most delicate subject in corporate America, or anywhere else in America: race. Over sandwich...
It's known as "The Crisis" around Texaco's sprawling office headquarters in a leafy suburb north of New York City, which is certainly apropos. It was the embarrassing and expensive saga that forced...
The racial-preference policies lumped together under the label "affirmative action" seem to be reaching the end of their collective road. The Republican majority in Congress and most GOP presidenti...
Crystal Warwell's strong record at Robinson High School in Tampa helped her win unsolicited offers of scholarships from the University of Florida and the University of South Florida. But Warwell, w...
WHY can't we all get along?'' Rodney King's question still resonates six months after the acquittal of four Los Angeles police officers who beat him, a verdict that triggered the worst riot in the ...
I have a dream my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character . . .
Clear your mind for a moment of all the notions you've ever held about blacks, whites and racial discrimination. Now take a look at these stark statistics: -- A black household with an annual incom...
IN THE TRUNK of Robert Nakasone's car is a brown government-issue blanket. It was the blanket handed to his mother when she, like thousands of other Japanese Americans, was ''relocated'' into camps...
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